Hope Under Attack
by In The Beginning
Summary: He was an amazing surgeon, and nobody could dispute that. But even great men fall... and only time will tell if they can rise again. [Complete with bonus]
1. Infection

(I'm sure people are starting to wonder; why do I write these fics?

Simple. Because no one else really does.

Most fics I see are "Cybil/Greg visits Greg/Cybil post-GUILT operation," "Angie freaks out before Derek's operation," "Derek having nightmares about his dead father..." You get it. Things that are relatively obvious.

Not that I don't like those fics; but I always wonder, how do those things _happen?_ And what would happen if they(they being the people) got involved in something _outside_ of Caduceus or Hope Hospital? In short, I write these fics in an attempt to expand the relatively narrow horizons.

Wow. Remind me to never write intro notes on Sunday mornings. XD

One final note... the beginning of this chapter is full of fifty-dollar phrases. DISPROPORTIONATE APPENDAGES.

Characters(except Nurse Hollet) © Nintendo

Nurse Hollet © Me, Spazzmistic)

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Hope Under Attack

Chapter One- Infection

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"Ultrasound."

Dr. Kasal took the surgical instrument, trying to locate the hidden GUILT body.

"There you are..." he muttered as its long shadow appeared under the surface of the stomach. "Scalpel."

The GUILT body wriggled out through the small incision that Dr. Kasal made; its disproportionate appendages propelled it forward across the organ as the parasite emitted poisonous gases.

"How long until you think this outbreak is under control, Nurse Hollet?" he asked as the dark-haired scrub nurse readied the general serum.

"Hopefully not too much longer," she commented, handing the filled syringe to Dr. Kasal. "It's a good thing that the treatment serum is similar to salycitate, isn't it? It's easy to recreate..."

"...which means that this strain is easy to treat," Dr. Kasal finished her thought, injecting the serum into the GUILT body. It trembled, then dove back under the surface of the stomach, secreting toxic fumes.

"I'll need the antibiotic gel and the ultrasound..."

"I'll treat the poison; just worry about finding the GUILT, Doctor."

"Alright then."

As Nurse Hollet applied antibiotic gel to the poisonous clouds, Dr. Kasal used the ultrasound once again to attempt to locate the parasite. Upon finding its shadow...

"Scalpel, Nurse Hollet."

She abandoned treating the toxins. The sharp tool was quickly handed to Dr. Kasal, replacing the ultrasound.

The GUILT was drawn out of hiding. It pushed itself around the surface of the stomach.

"Here's the serum, Doctor."

Dr. Kasal took the syringe, once again injecting the GUILT with the red-tinted serum. The parasite grew still...

"Nice job, as always, Dr. Kasal," Nurse Hollet smiled as she handed him the forceps. He chuckled as he took the surgical instrument, carefully picking up the dormant parasite.

"I'm just doing my job, Nurse Hollet... no need for--"

The GUILT twitched; it suddenly began thrashing violently, toxic clouds emanating from its body as it panicked...

"Gah!" Dr. Kasal inadvertently dropped the GUILT back into the patient, clutching his right hand. "Sunuva--!"

Nurse Hollet acted quickly; she grabbed the antibiotic gel and poured a liberal amount onto the parasitic entity. It writhed, then collapsed, moving no more.

"That was strange..." she murmured. "Are you alright, Dr. Kasal?"

"Y-yeah... I'm fine. It just shocked me, that's all."

"Alright... we still need to take it out of the patient, Doctor."

Dr. Kasal slowly released his hand, then cautiously picked up the GUILT body.

"Good riddance," he muttered, disposing of the GUILT body. "What's the Chiral Reaction, Nurse Hollet?"

"Chiral Reaction is negative, Doctor."

"Alright. Let's close him up."

Dr. Kasal quickly sutured the initial wound.

"Do we have more gel?"

"Of course. Here you go, Doctor."

The wound was quickly sanitized, then bandaged. Dr. Kasal handed the roll of bandages back to Nurse Hollet.

"There we go," he grinned. "Operation successful. Let's get him out of here--"

"Wait... Doctor, these bandages. Look."

There was a fresh blood stain on the otherwise clean bandages. Dr. Kasal quickly glanced at his right palm...

"Goddamnit... it _cut_ me!"

"Here, let me see it."

As Dr. Kasal extended his hand towards the nurse, she soaked a gauze pad with the antibiotic gel. She then carefully scrubbed the wound clean, until she was certain that it was sufficiently sterilized. Putting down the gel-soaked cloth, the young nurse finally wrapped his hand with clean bandages.

"You know, we should only be bandaging the patient, Dr. Kasal," Nurse Hollet commented, smiling briefly. Dr. Kasal laughed.

"Yes, we should be. Sorry about that; now, let's really get him out of here."

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Greg was definitely not at the top of his game.

Two days had passed since the operation; on the first night, his right side had begun to pain him. On the second day, he felt weaker, more easily worn out; Greg just chalked it up to lack of sleep due to a busy work schedule.

And today, on the third morning, he was in so much agony, getting out of bed was excruciatingly painful. Not that he really had the strength to get up...

Greg didn't pull himself out of bed until nearly seven forty-five, after just lying there for twenty minutes; it took him a half an hour longer than usual to get ready for work, and he didn't get on the road until nearly nine o'clock.

At nine fifty, Greg was parked in the Hope Hospital parking lot, taking an aspirin before preparing himself for a long, painful day of work.

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Something was _wrong._

Dr. Kasal drank some water as he sat in his office, slowly filling out paperwork.

Obviously he was ill; he wouldn't be in so much pain if he was healthy. He was also certain that he wasn't suffering from hypochondria, not now, not this time...

What Dr. Kasal couldn't be certain of was his condition.

Appendicitis? No, the pain was far too widespread. PBC? ...that included jaundice as one of its symptoms; his skin wasn't yellowing at all. Pancreatitis was a possibility... but highly doubtful. He wasn't feeling nauseous...

He frowned slightly.

Perhaps this was the downfall to being a doctor; refusing to admit when you weren't sure of your diagnosis... Even so, Dr. Kasal promised himself that he would go to see a physician as soon as he could...

"Excuse me, Dr. Kasal?"

He looked up to see Nurse Hollet standing in the doorway, lightly clutching a letter in her hands.

"Another patient has been admitted with the unidentified GUILT strain," she spoke. "Also, she had this letter with her when the ambulance brought her in..."

She entered the small office, handing the paper to Dr. Kasal. He took it, glancing briefly at the writing.

"...what the hell is this?"

"What is it, Doctor?"

"Ah... nothing. Don't worry about it, Miss Hollet. ...put the patient on the operating schedule. Let me know when we have the OR."

"Yes, Dr. Kasal."

Nurse Hollet left the room, leaving the door slightly open. Dr. Kasal read the letter more thoroughly.

_To destroy mankind,_

_Nature rises against him._

_Working together,_

_the true order is restored._

...what the hell was this nonsense? _The true order is restored,_ what was that supposed to mean? Absolutely nothing...

"...wait..." Dr. Kasal slowly read it again. "Working together... the true order is restored... is this--"

The right side of his abdomen suddenly erupted in pain. His hands immediately clutched his side as he doubled over, crying out in agony; the room began to grow dark...

No, no, _no,_ this couldn't be happening, how could this happen--?!

When Nurse Hollet returned to Dr. Kasal's office ten minutes later to inform him of the operation time, she found him unconscious on the floor, his skin rapidly losing color...

"Dr. Kasal!!"

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(End Chapter One.

Ha, cliffhangers are awesome... well, for me anyways, because then you're always wondering what happens next. unless the story is totally predictable. Then it's just... why even bother?

Oh wow, Sundays are really bad days for me to be writing author's notes. I ramble a lot, don't I? Just like Nurse Fulton... only she actually usually has a point to make. La di da...

Ahem. Why don't I just call him Dr. Kasal or Greg the whole story through? Because he's not Dr. Kasal when he's not working, and on the job, only Dr. Hoffman calls him Greg.

And what kind of car does he drive? Why, a silver Corvette, of course. Tee hee.

Review please! Next chapter should be up soon!)


	2. GUILT

(Oh man, I can't WAIT for New Blood to come out. I heard the entire thing is VOICEOVERS. Which means that if Sidney or Greg is in there(and I'm almost positive at least Sidney will be there), I MAY GET TO HEAR THEIR VOICES. Cue swoon.

Ahem... this chapter is bouncy. Like a giant, verbal pogo stick.

Two of the poisons I mention are fake; one is real. Can you guess which one is real?

Characters(except the really stupid assistant nurse) © Nintendo

Really stupid assistant nurse © Me, unfortunately)

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Hope Under Attack

Chapter Two- GUILT

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When he woke up, Greg was in more pain than he could have imagined... For several minutes, he kept his eyes closed, wishing for nothing more than to slip back into the realm of unconsciousness, where he could feel nothing.

It soon became evident that his wish would not be granted. Groaning quietly, he opened his hazel eyes slowly.

The ceiling didn't look familiar... where was he?

"Ah, Dr. Kasal! You're awake...!"

The voice was new to Greg as well. Turning his head slightly, he saw a green-haired nurse with amber eyes standing over him, smiling gently.

"How are you feeling, Dr. Kasal?"

"...what... where am I?" His voice was weak; it was tiring to talk.

"Dr. Kasal... you passed out in your office at Hope Hospital two days ago," the nurse replied gently. "Right now, you're in the Caduceus surgical ward."

Caduceus... so it was that bad, whatever he had contracted?

"What is it...?" Greg asked. He had to know; he had to know what could have brought him so far down, and so quickly.

The nurse paused.

"We did some blood tests while you were still unconscious," she admitted slowly. "There were high levels of iocane, paxilon hydrochlorate, and solanine in your blood. We did another test to try and determine the cause of the poisoning..."

Greg already knew.

"You did... a Chiron Test... didn't you?"

"...the spectral analysis was F4-K. It's... it's--"

"It's an unidentified strain."

Sidney Kasal had entered the room.

"Ah, Director Kasal..."

"Hello, Sidney..." Greg muttered, slowly beginning to sit up...

"No, Greg. Don't get up."

Sidney's voice, usually cool and detached, was now so full of quiet concern that Greg felt as though he had no choice but to obey his brother's request. He allowed himself to collapse back onto the hospital bed.

"Leslie, I would like to speak to the patient in private."

"Of course, Director Kasal."

Leslie Sears quickly left the room. Sidney fixed his glasses.

"...this strain is similar to the one that's been appearing in the area lately," he began, his voice once again impassive. "But it's not responding to treatment. We think it's a mutated form."

"Sidney..."

"The plan for now is to drain some of your blood, then replace it with a clean transfusion."

"...Sidney."

"Hopefully, it will dilute the--"

"Sidney, I--"

"_Goddamnit, Greg, let me finish talking!!_"

Sidney had never yelled before in his life, let alone so loudly; Greg was immediately brought to silence.

"...we hope," the younger twin finally resumed after inhaling sharply, "that the transfusion will dilute the poisons long enough for us to develop an antitoxin."

There was quiet in the room.

It was soon broken by a single dry, choking sob.

"Sidney...?"

"...God_damnit,_ Greg, why did you have to go and let this happen to you...?!"

Sidney's voice cracked; even in his tired, pained state, Greg could see tears slowly rolling down his brother's face.

"...Sidney, have a seat."

"No, Greg, I--"

"_Sit._"

In retrospect, Greg admitted to himself that perhaps he shouldn't have spoken so forcefully; a wave of nausea temporarily overcame him. However, it wasn't in vain; Sidney slowly sat down in the chair set up by Greg's bedside, trying to stem the tears that rolled down his face.

"Sidney," Greg began, "you know I wouldn't have gone and let this happen... on purpose..."

"...I know you wouldn't, Greg," Sidney replied softly, removing his glasses and cleaning them with his shirt. "But I-... why you? Why did it have to be you...? Why couldn't it have been someone else, someone that I didn't know...?"

"...Sidney, it can't be that bad if I'm not--"

"Greg, you-... you weren't watching... while we were first trying to detoxify your blood... you went into cardiogenic shock, it took everything we had to restart your heart, you were gone for six minutes..."

"Sidney--"

"...it was like watching her die again, Greg."

Greg fell silent.

He wasn't sure if he could forgive himself for putting his brother through that traumatizing experience yet again...

"...I'm sorry, Sidney."

Sidney dried his eyes, then carefully placed his glasses back on his face.

"...it's alright, Greg."

"No, actually... it's not. I had... no right whatsoever... to put you through that emotional situation... not when you've been through it once before. ...I'm sorry."

There was a brief silence.

Sidney fixed his glasses.

"...alright. You already know about our short-term care plan... the research department is working non-stop on finding a cure. It's... moving slowly, however. It may take a while before they come up with something."

"...very well. I can hold on for a while... I can wait for the cure."

Sidney stood up.

"I'll tell Leslie to do the transfusion... I need to deliver an important message. ...And, Greg..."

"Hm...?"

"Now that you've promised... I will never, _ever_ forgive you if you give up before the cure is found. Understood?"

Greg couldn't help but smirk.

"Yes, Sidney. I understand."

"Good... now get some rest."

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"How long till Derek's back from Africa, you think?"

"At least another day... the most direct flight from Rubora to Angeles Bay is thirty-three hours, and that's without any unexpected delays..."

Leslie Sears and Tyler Chase were in the Caduceus lounge, drinking their black coffee out of styrofoam cups. At Tyler's(and Greg's, since he knew that Leslie had been working nonstop) persistent suggestion, Leslie had finally called in an assistant nurse to look after Greg while she took a much-needed coffee break.

"Man, he'd better get here soon," Tyler sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. "I don't care how tough he is, if he's not treated soon, Dr. Kasal won't be strong enough for an operation..."

Leslie's walkie-talkie suddenly began to beep. She quickly took it off her belt and answered.

"Yes?"

"Nurse Sears, it's about Dr. Kasal's condition... he's becoming more listless and pale, and his heart rate has dropped slightly, along with his blood pressure."

"How recently did you do a transfusion?"

There was silence on the other end. Tyler and Leslie exchanged nervous glances.

"Don't tell me you didn't do the transfusion..."

"Well, he looked fine when I came in, so I didn't order for more blood..."

"Go and get at least three pints of AB negative. I'll be there in a minute."

"Yes, Nurse Sears."

Leslie turned off her walkie-talkie.

"I swear, sometimes the assistants are worse now than when they were interns," Leslie sighed as she and Tyler left the lounge, headed for room 202.

"Hey, that's harsh. We were both residents once, remember?" Tyler chuckled.

"Oh, I heard all sorts of horror stories about _your_ residency..."

"Hey!"

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The assistant nurse was right; Greg's already ashen color had become even paler, and when Leslie and Tyler walked in, he could barely manage a half-hearted wave.

"Dr. Kasal, are you alright?" Leslie asked as she approached his side, obviously concerned for his well-being. "I heard Nurse Sienna didn't do a transfusion... we'll take care of that now, okay?"

"Alright..." Greg replied, his voice weak.

Just then, the assistant nurse returned.

"Here's the blood, Nurse Sears."

"Thank you. Did you also grab some empty blood bags so we can drain the excess blood?"

"..."

"...go get some, now."

"Yes, Nurse Sears."

After Nurse Sienna left, Leslie let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Kasal, but we'll have to wait a few more minutes..."

"That's okay, Miss Se--"

Greg suddenly clutched his right side, crying out in pain. The heart monitor began beeping frantically...

"Dr. Kasal!" Leslie panicked as she saw the monitors start to go haywire. "We need to transfuse him, but there's nowhere to put the old blood--"

"Leslie, what did you do with the bag you used for the last transfusion?!" Tyler cut her off.

"I threw it ou-- wait, no I didn't... because the garbage can was full... I think I still have it--!"

Rummaging through the pockets in her dress, she quickly pulled out a crumpled, but untorn, blood bag. She quickly handed it to Tyler, who took the bag and then placed his hand over Greg's left arm.

"Dr. Kasal, I need to see your arm..."

When Greg refused to move his arm, Tyler forcefully pried it away from his side.

"Dr. Kasal, try to relax," Tyler ordered as he carefully inserted a catheter into one of Greg's veins, then attached the empty bag to the end of the tubing. "I need you to relax... we can't give you blood if you're this tense..."

Leslie quickly attached a new bag of blood to the IV site in Greg's right arm when she saw Tyler's bag fill with dark red blood, blood so dark that it was more purple than red.

"...Les, it's not working," Tyler realized after Greg's condition failed to improve as he continued collecting the toxic blood. "I think he's losing it faster than we're giving it back to him!"

"That's not the only thing; his blood pressure's dropping too fast for it to just be from blood loss... I think he's going to go into shock again!" Leslie cried. "But what can we do?!"

"...do you have another infusion set for drawing blood?"

"Y-yes..."

"Get the catheter in--"

Greg's heart monitor let out a series of frantic beeps, then a single tone... his vitals plummeted rapidly, his eyes beginning to glaze over...

"NO!"

"Les, get the catheter in an artery and attach a blood bag to it, it'll pour in faster!" Tyler barked as he ran to grab the AED off the wall.

Leslie quickly stuck another catheter into Greg's arm, attaching a blood bag to the end of the tubing. Clean blood poured into Greg's body as Tyler placed the defibrillator pads on Greg's chest...

"Clear!"

There was a spike on the heart monitor before the line went flat once again...

"Damnit... c'mon! Clear!"

The monitor droned on. Leslie began to sob...

"Dr. Kasal, you can't--"

"Clear!"

Nothing...

"You said you'd live--"

"Clear!!"

"That you'd hold on until they found a cure--"

Only the monotonous hum of the monitor...

"Damnit, Dr. Kasal, _live! Clear!!_"

"...how could you give up after you told your brother you would hold on?!"

Only the drone--

...a beep.

Tyler and Leslie glanced up, hardly daring to believe it... the flat green line of the heart monitor was broken by small spikes, far apart and short but quickly growing in size and frequency... Greg's vitals began to rise once more, life returning to his eyes...

"We... we did it..." Tyler breathed, disbelieving.

"He... he's alive again...!"

Leslie and Tyler suddenly began cheering victoriously, celebrating the results of their effort.

Their revelry was interrupted when Sidney Kasal rushed into the room, followed closely by a seemingly terrified Nurse Sienna.

"Ah, Director Kasal...!" Leslie couldn't help but smile through her tears of joy.

"Is he okay...?" Sidney asked.

"He's fine, Chief," Tyler grinned. "It was close but he pulled through... now he's just resting."

Sidney immediately relaxed; he then quickly fixed his glasses.

"Good. I just received a message from Langston Miller... Derek is on his way back from Africa. He will be here in two days... until then, I would like you, Leslie and Tyler, to stay and watch after Greg. Notify me if any problems arise."

"Yeah... you got it, Chief."

Sidney left the room, leaving Leslie and Tyler to clean up the mess they had made in their frantic attempts to revive Greg, as well as to reprimand Nurse Sienna for failing to do her job.

_Please, Greg..._ Sidney prayed silently. _Please... don't give up. Just a few more days..._

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_

(End chapter two.

NOW WASN'T THAT DRAMATIC.

Lucky for you there's no way I can stop here... it would be a way too sudden ending to the story. You lucky birds get a third chapter! Woo!

Also... the "her" that Sidney is referring to... his wife.

And with that said... please review!)


	3. The Cure

(Two chapters in one day?! Madness!

But whatever. This is the final official chapter... I'm probably going to do a bonus chapter... I'll tell you more about THAT at the end of the chapter.

Also, strange occurrence... why does my left arm have five visible veins at the elbow, while my right only has two?

Speaking of veins... the two fake poisons from last chapter. Iocane is the poison that Westley uses to poison Vizzini in "The Princess Bride." Paxilon hydrochlorate, or "Pax," was used in the film "Serenity" to create a loss of will to live. Solanine, however, is a glycoalkaloid poison... it can occasionally be found in potatoes.

ENOUGH NOTES CHAPTER NOW.

Characters © Nintendo)

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Hope Under Attack

Chapter Three- The Cure

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Greg had regained consciousness by the time Derek returned to Caduceus, panicking, demanding to know how his mentor was doing. Derek was calmed when he saw that Greg was awake; the young surgeon could hardly have been more elated when he heard that the researchers thought that they could finally create a cure.

On Sidney's orders, Derek and Angie left Caduceus to collect antigen samples from people infected with the immature form of this toxic GUILT.

The GUILT which now had a name, thanks to the information that Derek and Angie had obtained from a boy named Reuben in Rubora.

Tetarti... the synchronized venom.

When Greg heard the name, he couldn't help but chuckle; it was just so appropriate. Sidney, of course, failed to see the humor in the situation; he just rolled his eyes at his insane older brother.

Later that evening, Derek and Angie still hadn't returned to Caduceus. Sidney was getting restless; now that the cure was practically within reach, this excessive delay was mentally torturing the younger Kasal.

He didn't want to just sit and do nothing...

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"Leslie, Tyler... I'd like to speak to the patient in private, please."

"Of course, Director Kasal."

"You got it, Chief."

Leslie and Tyler left the room. Sidney sat in the chair by Greg's bedside.

"Greg... are you awake?"

Greg's hazel eyes opened slowly.

"Mngh... Sidney? ...yeah, now I am... what is it?"

"...nothing. Just wondering if you were okay, that's all."

Greg smiled lightly.

"Worried about me, aren't you...?"

Sidney fixed his glasses, frowning indignantly.

"Well, what would you expect? After years of you being the supporter- 'Sidney, go study abroad,' 'Sidney, everything will be okay,' 'Hey Sidney, there's a job opening at Caduceus, you should go for it'- now that _you're_ the one who needs support- I'm not used to it. ...hurry up and recover so that you can go back to being the big brother instead of me."

Greg laughed briefly.

"I'm trying, Sidney. It's not as easy as I first thought... trying to stay a—"

"That's enough, Greg."

The elder twin grew quiet.

"...you don't try to survive," Sidney frowned, his hazel eyes staring off into the distance. "You just... do. And... you're only not surviving... when you _want_ to die. ...that's the conclusion I came to, last night.

"Yes, sometimes, the person's body is just too weak, and it can't keep going. But... that's not the situation you're in at all. So... if you give up now, when the cure is so close..."

"...you've had a lot of time to think about this, haven't you?" Greg grinned. "Well... I may not be as obstinate as you... my stubborn mule of a twin... but I'm uncompromising enough when it comes to admitting defeat. I'm not giving up."

Sidney smiled softly.

"...good."

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Two days later, Greg was abruptly woken from his rest when someone shook his shoulders roughly.

"Unh...?"

"Hey, Dr. Kasal. I need to see your arm."

As his blurry vision became more focused, Greg saw Victor Niguel standing at his bedside, an excessively long needle clutched in his hand.

"...another IV?" Greg muttered drowsily, offering his right arm. "Now I know how some patients feel... and why they complain about becoming human pincushions."

"Heh..." Victor chuckled, carefully sticking the needle into the back of Greg's hand. He then removed the needle, only leaving the plastic catheter in place for the fluid to drip in through. "There we go..."

"So, Victor... how long until you have the antitoxin?" Greg asked, closing his eyes slowly.

"Actually... that's what the new IV is for."

Greg's eyes snapped open.

"It is?"

"Yep," Victor smirked as he removed the IV site that had been giving Greg clean blood. "And once I let all of them out there know that you're going to be okay, they'll probably want to remove the GUILT right away. It might be a good time to wake up, Dr. Kasal."

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"How are you feeling, Dr. Kasal?"

"Much, much better... thank you for asking, Angie."

The antitoxins had done their job; the operation had been an overwhelming success. Even though he was still bed-bound three days after the operation, even though he still tired easily, Greg felt no pain.

He had almost forgotten what it felt like to be free of agony... it was a very, very good feeling.

"That's good to hear," Angie beamed. "Now, I need to draw some more blood... we need to make sure that all the toxins are gone. If they are, you'll be free to return to Hope."

"Well then, let's hope that day's today," Greg laughed as he extended his left arm. Angie tied a strip of rubber around his upper arm, then carefully slipped the needle into Greg's vein, attaching a vial to the end of the tubing.

Dark red blood began to fill the vial.

"It's certainly a healthier looking color than yesterday's blood," Angie commented, smiling. "I wouldn't be surprised if today _is_ the day."

"I hope so. I don't care much for being on the patient end of the medical spectrum."

Angie untied the rubber strip around Greg's arm, then pulled out the needle.

"I'll go and give this to Victor... I'll have the results for you by tonight."

"Alright. Thank you, Angie."

Angie smiled as she left.

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Greg was eating dinner when Sidney walked in.

"Oh, excuse me for interrupting..."

"Don't worry about it, Sidney; I'm done anyways. Come in."

Sidney sat down in the chair.

"How are you, Greg? You look a lot better."

"Thanks. I _feel_ a lot better... still tired, but otherwise, I feel good to go."

Sidney pondered that for a moment.

He quietly mused on how Greg had looked so healthy before this nightmare had happened, then degraded to such a poor state of health... like death warmed over... and then bounced right back to his previous status.

Sidney couldn't help but have some sense of amazement for the human body's ability to endure so much and leave with so little permanent trauma...

"What are you thinking about, Sidney?"

Greg's question pulled the younger Kasal back into the real world. He quickly fixed his glasses.

"Nothing much... just that I'm glad that you're alright again."

"Sidney, you always knew I was going to get better."

"...no, actually, I... I didn't."

There was a brief silence.

"...when I got the phone call saying that you were infected with GUILT, I didn't know what was going to happen. When the spectral analysis came back, I cursed myself. I kept on thinking, 'I shouldn't have sent Derek and Angie to Africa. Nobody here can operate nearly as well as Derek does on new GUILT.' ...I thought I had sent them away at the worst possible time."

He inhaled deeply. Greg patiently waited for Sidney to continue.

"...but then they came back with a file that contained extensive information on GUILT... even how to possibly treat it. ...I don't know why I'm saying this, but... maybe it was Fate that they went. ...Fate, or extremely good luck and timing."

The door to the room opened, and Angie walked in, clutching a clipboard.

"Oh, hello, Chief..."

"...good evening, Angie..."

"Do you have the results?" Greg asked, hopeful.

"Well," Angie began, "not only have all the toxin levels dropped, but the paxilon hydrochlorate is completely gone. However, there's still too much iocane and solanine... maybe tomorrow, Dr. Kasal."

"...I understand. Thank you, Angie."

"You're welcome, Dr. Kasal."

And with that, Angie left, her heels clicking on the tile floor.

"...I'm going to go, Greg... I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright... take care, Sidney."

Sidney left the room... an odd sense of peace filled him... he felt certain for the first time in over a week in one thing.

Things would eventually be okay.

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(End chapter three.

Wooo! There ends the main story... which is one chapter longer than I planned it to be. But that's okay!

I was originally going to have the second half of this chapter be the bonus chapter... but instead, maybe I'll make the bonus chapter be the really traumatizing scene that Sidney experienced when Greg was first brought into Caduceus. You know... the one that they were talking about in chapter two. Because I really, REALLY want to. Hee.

Review, please!)


	4. Bonus Race Against Time

(I really have one serious comment, then a bunch of nonsense...

Serious comment: SUPER VICTOR! Victor saves the day here because damnit, I've only included Victor in my stories for a grand total of one hundred words. THAT NEEDS TO BE REMEDIED. I like Victor.

Not _nearly_ as much as I like Greg and Sidney, of course... heh heh...

Anyways... this chapter is just... odd all over. But it's a good chapter filled with drama, so damn it all, it's going up! As I said last chapter, this is about the traumatizing situation Sidney mentions in chapter two... yaaaaay!

Characters © Nintendo

GUILT(Gangliated Utrophin Immuno Latency Toxin)(I should have put this in a while ago) © Nintendo

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Hope Under Attack

Bonus Chapter- Race Against Time

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Sidney was filling out paperwork when the phone rang.

...he wasn't expecting a phone call... nevertheless, he picked up the receiver. If they had called his office directly, then it was either someone he knew or extremely important.

"Hello, this is Director Kasal."

"Sidney, this is Dr. Hoffman at Hope Hospital. We need you to take one of our new GUILT patients to Caduceus... we are unable to treat them here."

Sidney bit back a sigh as he rummaged around for an admission form.

"Our wards are nearly full, Dr. Hoffman... are you sure that you can't treat them at Hope Hospital?"

"Absolutely certain."

"Has my brother already tried operating on them, then?"

"...no... he hasn't."

"...why not?"

There was a pause.

"...because Greg is incapable of operating on himself."

Sidney froze.

"...no... no! Not... you can't be saying that Greg-- ..._how_?!"

"Sidney, calm down. I don't know how... what I do know is that we can't do anything for him here. He needs to be transferred... the sooner, the better."

"...understood. An ambulance will be there in thirty minutes."

Sidney hung up.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry, to scream, to break something- _anything_- just to express his worry... he wanted to wake up and realize this was a dream.

Instead, he picked up the phone and called the lobby.

"Yes, Chief?"

"Audrey, I need you to dispatch an ambulance to Hope Hospital." Sidney's voice was flat- detached.

"Thought we weren't taking in more patients till we had this outbreak under control... must be a bad case, huh? Alright. Who are we picking up?"

"A new GUILT victim... his name is Gregory Kasal."

There was a pause.

"...I'll get Micah to drive."

Micah could drive faster than Derek Stiles could operate.

"Thank you, Audrey."

--------

"Blood pressure is ninety over fifty, we need to get it back up! We need to dump some blood into him!"

"But he's not bleeding, what good would it do? It would just give him a transfusion reaction!"

They had gotten Greg to Caduceus... but almost as soon as he was brought in through the front doors, his already perilous situation took a sudden turn for the worse...

"Damnit... Victor, we still need blood work-"

"Well, I can't get the blood if you're in the goddamn way!"

Now they were in the emergency room, desperately trying to stabilize the elder Kasal brother, who was just lying on the table, his glassy eyes staring off into nothingness...

"Fine, here, here's his arm. Just hurry!"

Victor Niguel moved in, quickly sliding a needle into Greg's vein, attaching a vial to the end of the tubing.

Blood slowly filled the vial...

"Holy _shit._ I think I've found the problem."

"Already? What is it?"

Victor held up the vial of blood for everyone to see.

"Is... is that _black?!_"

"No, but it's really fucking dark purple. My advice? Bleed him out and transfuse him with clean blood. I'll be right back with results."

Victor hurried out of the ER, tightly clutching the vial of dark blood.

"Victor, what's happening in there?!"

Victor froze, then turned to face Sidney, who had been waiting outside. Even though there was an observation window, the room was soundproof. He had no idea what was going on...

"...I'll be honest, Chief; it doesn't look too good."

The dark-haired researcher held up the vial of blood; color drained from Sidney's face.

"You want my opinion? The GUILT he's got is poisoning him... and it's been poisoning him for a while. ...if you'll excuse me."

Victor left for the lab.

In the emergency room, things continued to spiral out of control...

"Blood pressure is now eighty over forty and he's beginning to hyperventilate!"

"Damnit, he's going into shock! Where's the blood?!"

"...it just came in!"

"Hook him up! I want someone draining blood, as well!"

Greg was getting clean blood in less than half a minute; at the same time, his venomous blood was being drained, collected in empty blood bags...

"...blood pressure is stable at eighty over forty, but it's not rising!"

"He's losing blood faster than we can give it back to him!"

"Then start another transfusion, damnit!"

Victor had walked back into the room.

"You're all surgeons, you're supposed to surge! If one thing doesn't work, try something else!"

A second transfusion was quickly set up.

"Well, what's the story, Victor?"

"It's a new GUILT... and it looks like it's insanely toxic. There's extremely high levels of paxilon hydrochlorate, iocane, and solanine in his blood."

"Well, why didn't you bring the antitoxins?!"

"Because when I tried to detoxify the sample, the blood's pH when from seven to three point six!" Victor snapped. "It's probably because of the unnatural chirality!"

"Damnit... let's keep transfusing him, then--"

"V-Vitals are dropping!"

"Inject him with the stabilizer--"

"He's stopped breathing!!"

The heart monitor went haywire...

"Get him breathing!"

"We're losing him--!"

The green line went flat...

"_Get the defibrillator!_"

Sidney watched in horror... no no, _no_, this couldn't be happening--!

"Clear!"

A single jump in the line...

"Clear!"

Victor suddenly noticed that the blood bags were empty...

"Hey, somebody help me change the blood bags!"

"Clear!"

One long, never-ending beep...

"That's not the main concern, Victor, we have to restore his heartbeat--"

"It's the toxins, the toxins are stopping the heart! If we can clean up the blood, then the heart should start again!"

"Clear!"

"...damnit, if none of you will help me, I'll do it myself!"

He began changing the blood bags...

"Clear!!"

"Victor, it's not going to--"

He snapped.

"_Either shut the fuck up or help me!!_"

The assistants immediately rose to Victor's aide, inspired by fear...

"Goddamnit! _Clear!_"

Nothing but the flat tone of the monitor...

"Vitals at seven!"

"We have to keep trying! _Clear!_"

"This is bad...!"

"...six...!"

"Come _on,_ Dr. Kasal! _Clear!!_"

"_Greg!_"

Sidney ran into the room. Victor abandoned the blood to restrain the frantic younger twin...

"Let me _go,_ Victor! Let me _go, _he's my _brother, _he's _dying--!_"

"Chief, calm down, we're trying to--"

"Clear!"

"Vitals at five...!"

" You need to save him, _you have to save him--!_"

"_DAMNIT, CHIEF, WE'RE __**TRYING!**_"

"Clear!"

"Chief, you need to wait outside- we can't have you in here--"

"But--"

"Chief, _OUT!_"

Victor forcefully threw Sidney out of the emergency room...

"Clear...!"

The green line stayed flat...

"...it's... it's not working..."

Victor turned to face the EMT.

"Don't give up, damnit, we can save him!"

"Vitals at three..."

"Victor, it's been five minutes, he's too far gone... we can't--"

"_Don't give me that shit, yes we can save him!_"

When nobody spoke up...

"Fine, I'll do it myself!"

Victor pulled the defibrillator pads out of the EMT's hands, placing them on Greg's chest.

"Clear!"

"Victor, stop!"

"No!"

The monitor droned on...

"Damnit! _Clear!_"

"Victor, that's enough!"

The staff pulled Victor away from Greg...

"NO! Damnit, let me GO!"

"Victor, you can't save him!"

"But the Chief is counting on me to at least _try!_"

He ripped himself free of their grasp, rushing back and placing the defibrillator pads on Greg's chest once again...

"Victor--"

"_Clear!!_"

One spike, then--

...silence...

...a beep.

All eyes turned to the heart monitor...

...and watched in disbelief as the green line showed signs of life once again.

"V...vitals at thirty... blood pressure is one hundred over sixty and rising... and breathing has returned...!"

"...we did it-"

"Oh, don't you even fucking say that. _You_ gave up. _I_ did it."

Even though he was exhausted- having never assisted in any form of surgery before, he wasn't used to the frantic pace- Victor couldn't help but reveal one of his typical smirks.

"And now, I'm out of here... hopefully, you cowards can all keep him alive, now that I've done the hard work for you?"

He left the room.

"Victor, what- what happened...?!"

Sidney was on the verge of tears; he had assumed only the worst after he was thrown out.

Victor sighed, leaning against the tiled wall.

"I'll tell you right now, Chief... fuck being a surgeon. At least one of them. They give up too easily. ...but even despite that... he's a tough one. ...you've still got an older brother, Chief."

Sidney sighed deeply.

"Thank God..."

He then stood straight up, fixing his glasses.

"Thank you, Victor. I need you to take care of a few things for me, and then you can leave for the day... make sure that they put Dr. Kasal under Leslie Sears' care, and make sure she knows that I am to be notified of any changes in his condition. ...that's all. ...thank you, Victor."

"Yeah, no problem, Chief."

Victor walked off, leaving Sidney standing in front of the closed ER doors.

_Greg... thank you... for living. ...please... keep holding on._

--------

(End bonus chapter.

I have never before written an eight page chapter that was less than sixteen hundred words. This just goes to show that enter buttons are really good for taking up space.

Before somebody asks or says, "Why is Victor so stubborn and caring about other people?! He's antisocial!" Well, yeah, he's antisocial, but Sidney's done a lot for him- for example, putting up with his sarcasm, supporting research funding so that he would still have a job... and Victor isn't _completely_ narcissistic. So, in this perilous time, Victor volunteered to help out and try to stabilize Greg.

And it's a damn good thing he did too! The EMTs were going to black-tag Greg; can you imagine how Sidney would have felt?!

Well, anyways, mindless rambling aside... I'm probably going to start my Final Fantasy story(aka: the story that ends, but never ends). First chapter will, of course, be about Greg and Sidney... but chapter two won't be! Shock!

Okay, these notes are really long. Please review!)


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